Abstract

Recent legislation has taken a tough line with the clients of prostitutes. This is interesting given that such approaches have been resisted in the past by, amongst others, civil liberties groups and Members of Parliament. In this article we take a look at the legal and social history of prostitutes' clients. We examine the shifting socio-legal definitions of men who purchase sex from women, in order to make apparent the influences that underpin the recent legislation. Our discussion concludes with comment on the state of contemporary debate following the Home Office Review, Setting the Boundaries, as we look to the Sexual Offences Bill 2003, and with it the possibility of the creation of a new Trojan horse.